Sunderland-born theatre star Adam Strong flying home in Disney's Aladdin

Disney productions are always a huge spectacle on the Sunderland Empire stage.

But next year's Aladdin the musical debut will be extra special for its main baddie, Jafar.

Adam Strong will be swooshing the cloak of Aladdin's arch enemy in the first UK & Ireland tour of the West End and Broadway hit.

And the Sunderland leg of the tour, which will transport audiences to Arabia from February 15 to March 10, 2024, will see him stepping into the very spotlight which sparked his love of musical theatre as a child.

Adam, 35, from East Herrington, appeared in his first production at the Empire when he was just eight, appearing in South Pacific.

As a youngster, he was a regular at the Empire and grew up watching their annual pantomime productions, where his sister, Sonia, was a regular dancer.

She spurred him into pursuing singing and acting and it led to him winning a coveted BBC Fame Academy scholarship for a place at London School of Musical Theatre.

He's gone on to have a hugely-successful career, performing in hit shows such as Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Jesus Christ Superstar, We Will Rock You and Rock of Ages.

It was the latter, in 2019, which saw Adam make his professional debut on his hometown stage - and he says he can't wait to be back in the spring.

The UK & Ireland tour of Aladdin is currently in the midst of the first leg of the tour in Edinburgh where it's taking crowds to a whole new world.

"It's amazing, the response has been great," said Adam, who attended Sunderland High School.

"This is the first UK & Ireland tour of the show and the scale of the production is huge, there's 162 costumes in the tour. I don't think the UK will have seen this level of attention to detail before.

"There's also some classic Disney magic thrown it, and everyone is loving it."

The musical is adapted from Disney’s 1992 animated film and centuries-old folktales including “One Thousand and One Nights” and features the music from the film as well as new music by Alan Menken, Howard Ashman, Tim Rice and Chad Beguelin.

Adam added: "It's so much fun playing a baddie. I got boo'd last night before I even walked on stage, but I know if I'm not getting boo'd I'm not doing my job right.

"We've been getting people of all ages coming along, including people who don't have kids, but grew up watching the animation."

In preparation for his role, Adam - who's had a Jafar teddy since he was five - rewatched the classic film, but he's also been chatting to actors who've played Jafar in productions around the world, including Jonathan Freeman who voiced the animated character before playing him on Broadway.

"Aladdin was actually the first panto I saw my sister in at the Empire, and I must have watched it 30 times that year," he said. "So it feels very full circle to be coming back to Sunderland. I love that venue and there's actually another Mackem in the tour: Abbie Platt who's in the ensemble."

Adam's friends and family, who all still live in the city, will be among the audiences for the month-long run at the Empire, which is one of the few theatres in the country large enough to host such a big production.

Adam said: "Like the other big Disney productions, such as The Lion King and Beauty and the Beast, it's great to see so many people enjoying live theatre in the city. It's not all about Newcastle in the North East and Sunderland is actually the bigger theatre."

*Aladdin will be flying into Sunderland Empire from February 15 to March 10, 2024. Tickets from https://www.atgtickets.com/venues/sunderland-empire/